Bought a (rare) beater Acura
 

Well I haven't bought it yet, but I get to drive it for a few days.

It's a 2000 Acura EL, a Canadian car that some PO registered in CA.

It's a tarted up 4-dr 5-speed 1.6L Civic with the 127 ground pounding hp VTEC B16Y8 motor. Front and rear look like the ~99 Accord.

Compared to the Civic it has more sound insulation, a leather interior, moonroof, better suspension, seat heaters, no dings and no oil leaks, no rattles nor squeaks. Paint is decent for a beater, interior is in very good shape. Shocks are in surprisingly good shape.

90k miles for $3,000, with new brakes and tires (Yoko dB, nice grippy and quiet).

However a bearing in the tranny needs replacement, and probably the clutch and timing belt too.

What do you guys think? I used to have a beater 97 Civic HX, and I miss having a beater that costs nothing to own and run.

If I keep it I'll fix it and put a short shifter with poly bushings. Maybe swap the front upper A-arms left to right - a trick that increases caster. Probably keep it stock other than that - it's a beater!

I love hondas, owned them all my life thus far. I changed out the hg on my crx last weekend. Took 3hrs start to finish. I know the D and B like the back of my hand at this point.

fixed.

my girlfriends '97 integra ls auto had absolutely no maintenance besides replacing shocks and oil changes. still runs like a champ after 3 years of being 5th owner! im surprised that that car has absolutely no problems. all MY cars were constantly being worked on :/

My cousin in Canada had one, he came here with it once and it was quiet the attraction with some of my friends.
It's a civic, that sounds like a good price for one.
but you should be able to do better.

Pics?

Oh, and it has ABS.

Here are some pics I found

and a review
CanadianDriver » Acura » Used Vehicle Review: Acura 1.6EL, 1997-2000

It's a cool beater because it's rare.

The front screams accord while the rear screams civic. Its a bastard honda for sure. Interior looks almost mint from what I can see. At 90k it just broken in.

rare and beater should not be in the same sentence!

but it looks neat and is probably 99% parts bin engineering.

the D16Y series of motors have almost no fun parts available.

y8s, there's a very strong turbo-D following amongst the Honda enthusiasts. A lot of them see it as an alternative to the ubiquitous engine swap.

I did a leakdown and compression:
4%, 5%, 0, and 0.
Compression was 176-185 psi.

Surprised I have never seen one before. That car has a lot of styles going on. Accord, Civic and the front bumper and interior reminds me a lot of my old 95 Prelude. My '91 Accord (my first car at 15, about 8 years ago) still runs great at ~140k miles, and has never needed more than brakes or a belt here and there. My Prelude however was a money pit, only because I drove the absolute fuck out of it. I say jump on that deal for sure. If I could, I would.

y8s,

Edelbrock make a pretty bitchin' turbo kit for D16 motors. Their mani design puts the miata vendors cast manifolds to shame:

HONDA CIVIC EX SOHC VTec D16Y8 TURBO KIT

I used to have a firstgen Integra with the D16. They are fun motors, and a decent amount of info out there. I was planning on going turbo, but blew two straight headgaskets before I got around to it. Those motors will boil off enough coolant to get below the thermostat and the gauge will never show overheating until it's too late. Mine ended up being due to the original radiator cap....lesson learned.

I wonder how many ricers will ask where you got the Acura conversion for your Civic.

Overall I like it. Could be a little cheaper, but then again it could also be dirtier and more rundown. I can see it being a great, fun car to drive daily. I still miss mine just because despite being 20yrs old, EVERYTHING still worked, including the cruise. I was beyond impressed. It will probably also have the Acura staple of balanced everything. The brakes are just enough to slow you down from sewing machine speeds, and the suspension is just enough to carry the leftover momentum through the turns. Nothing impressive, but everything at the same level, and an envelope you can push on the street.

My buddy got a '97 Acura CL with the 4-cyl (what is it, an F23?) for $500 over the winter. The good news is that it was $500 and it's in reasonably decent condition. The bad news is that he has no mechanical aptitude whatsoever, nor does he have any tools, and the car has ~200,000 miles on it. So far I've replaced the radiator, timing belt (along with TWO balance shaft belts!), water pump, engine mounts (two of them, at different times), replaced both axles (again, at different times), rebuilt the power steering, done a tuneup, replaced the harmonic balancer (last week) upper radiator hose (last night) and at least a half dozen other things that I have since blocked from my memory. Oh well, working on it results in free dinner for me.

That said, my only concern would be the transmission in any Honda/Acura. I've yet to find a Honda transmission that was anything more than up to the task of grocery getting. Well, that and the garbage CVs. But I guess to most people, having robust window switches is more important than robust transmissions and axles.

lookin presidential.

This is very true. I put in level 2.9 axles, and was waiting on the transmission to grenade. The motor decided it wanted to go first.

I figured you (Jason) were already aware (as most) of the weaker parts of the Honda drivetrain.

It also sounds like you were planning to use it for daily duties, in which case you've nothing to worry. Even if so, it's a half day job.

I used to have a 97 Civic HX and the input shaft bearing in the tranny went bad. I found a replacement tranny in Craiglist for $100. Went to pick it up, looked at it, and told the guy "cool, let's separate it from your engine". He replied "Nah, take the engine too". I later sold the engine for $100 LOL.

For this one I think I'll just replace the bearing.

they list it for the Y8 which is the VTAKK but I have the Y7 which is the 106hp shlomo version. are the exhaust manifolds similar?

single slammer turbo lol